"Carter!" "It's Pete. He needs an ambulance!"
Carter ducked her head down and continued to talk to Pete as Jack looked on before turning back to Tealc who was poised ready to take Osiris down again if need be. Daniel had found his legs and was on the telephone calling in the cavalry. Jack could only wonder as to why and how Pete had managed to present himself into the middle of their mission.
It would be a good few hours before he got his answer. Pete had been brought into the SGC, and treated, Sam had stood mostly impatiently as Janet and nurses had attended to him. They had de-briefed with Hammond and Daniel had departed to be with Osiris...Sarah, the procedure was going ahead on that score concerning getting the snake out of her.
Jack still had not had a chance to scout the guy out for himself; he'd caught a glimpse of Shanahan when they brought him in but he hadn't had a chance to talk to him and doubted he would before he was discharged. Carter had requested a meeting with Hammond after the debrief and Jack suspected they were talking about Pete's involvement. He had been proven right as the General had asked him into his office as Carter had departed with a much more at ease demeanour.
"I've decided to give Major Carter the go ahead in telling Detective Shanahan about the stargate program. She will be disclosing information about the SGC this evening"
"You think that's wise Sir?"
"You don't?"
"I think its dangerous any amount of people knowing about the program"
"I have my concerns. As I said I've asked Major Carter not to disclose anything until this evening at least, although I'm quite happy with my decision I am running some checks on his background. Major Carter seems more at ease knowing she can tell him the truth. He saw enough not to be able to feed him any story we may have been able to come up with concerning the situation."
"Carter told me she thought he could handle the truth, it seems to have been a concern of hers keeping the whole truth from him"
"It's not the easiest thing to keep this from the people we care about. It can cause a strain to relationships. Major Carter was quite professional as always in looking at the pros and cons of disclosing this information to him"
"I wouldn't have expected anything else from her Sir"
"Good, I wanted you to know, as her commanding officer as well as her friend I feel she may need your full support in this"
"Yes Sir"
Things started to go back to normal after a few months. Jack had gotten used to the idea of Carter 'dating'. Not so much 'dating' as having a 'boyfriend'. Things hadn't completely changed at work, but a small wedge had seemed to settle between them, not big enough to change their dynamic but there all the same. In the following months she'd seemed happier, more at ease and spent less time in her lab than he'd ever known. Jack found he had been ordering Daniel home more often and Carter less. They had all been fully supportive of Carter and Pete, wished her all the happiness the relationship could bring. They had still to meet him formally, although they'd all been introduced before he'd been set loose from Janet and her minions.
Jack found himself settling into the happy routine, he finally found some sort of closure on the whole situation. Carter was moving on, and he could truthfully say he was happy that she was happy.